The Attack of the Zhu-Zhu

The day began like most ordinary days. Just a typical Thursday. I was actually feeling pretty cute today. I've just decided to grow my hair out, and was really quite pleased with how it looked today. Haha, days like this don't come around too often. Little did I know... my impending doom awaited.

Just like when I was little, there are still the "it" toys to have and bring to school. Some things just never change. When I was little it was Beanie Babies, American Girl Dolls, yo-yo's... etc. Now all the cool toys are so much more sophisticated than anything we ever had. So, the "cool" toy to have right now in Maranatha Baptist Academy's K-5 classes is a hamster looking creature called a Zhu-Zhu pet. Thanks, China, for coming up with this wonderful gem... I owe you one.

At first glance, I too was deceived by the apparent cuteness of this toy. But don't let it's cute exterior deceive you. It's lethal! ha!




Looks harmless enough, right? But under this fuzzy exterior are little wheels. When you press his cute little pink nose, those wheels begin to spin. Does anyone know where I'm going with this? I was sitting in my chair at recess, watching the students playing in the gym, when a little girl (from the other K-5 class) came up holding her Zhu-Zhu pet Apple Cheeks (don't ask). She commenced to show me how it worked on the floor, demonstrating how it moved, stopped, turned... etc. Being the nice teacher that I am, I feigned interest. She even let it "walk" on my lap a little bit. Then, the girl disappeared from view. Moments later, I felt something on my head, and heard a sickening sound... the sound of wheels turning. Immediately, a huge chunk of my hair ( I say huge because I have very fine hair and loosing any is never good) was hopelessly twisted around one of the wheels and pain shot though my scalp. My roommate and fellow teacher instantly jumped to my aid, but it was too late...

The situation was so ridiculous, that I was half laughing, half crying as she tried to extract the vermin from my poor hair. But, it was to no avail, and eventually we decided that it must be cut out or I would be forced to go through life with a Zhu-Zhu pet attached to my head. Not the best way to attract boys probably.

So, here's the end result... the picture doesn't do it justice in the slightest, and there's a good three inches of hair wrapped around the wheel. Well, life goes on. Just beware of this toy! The irony of the whole situation is when I turned it over to take this picture, the yellow warning label says, keep away from hair! Too bad our students can't read that well yet... Haha, what an incentive to teach them to their Phonics!